Course Reflection:
COMM 409 was a great intro to the world of media ethics. I felt like throughout the course a lot of issues came to light that I don’t immediately think of when I think of news and reporting. I never thought about how much time and effort and thought must be put into what reporters write about and what stations air.
One of the main ethical issues that made me think was fabrication. It was one of the first issues that we discussed. I normally believe what I read in a newspaper because I use them as a trustworthy news source. However after learning about various cases of reporters distorting details and straight up lying in the work, I know question and double check stories that I read. Another ethical issue that was really exemplified in this class was naming the victim. We discussed many issues and case studies that debate whether naming the victim is acceptable or not considering various circumstances. The case study me partners and I chose to write about was about naming the victim, and whether it was ethical or not.
The case study I knew the best and made the most impact on me was the one I did for my panel. We researched a women that was gang raped and her name was released during the trial on live TV. It really made me think. I thought about the case from all different perspectives. I thought about it from the perspective of the TV station, the accused men, and the victim.
This course opened my eyes to international reporting, and ethics in all types of reporting and viewing ethics from all different perspectives. I am interested in going into international reporting. Therefore getting the chance to experience this class and learn about all things right and wrong was a really good experience for me. I feel like I am a little bit more prepared to enter the work field when I graduate.
I enjoyed this course. I wish it had been a little more interactive. I loved the group projects and studying various cases. I think it gave us insight to cases covering multiple topics and areas of journalism. I feel like I learned a lot of information that I had heard about but was not fully familiar or able to apply it in the real world. I like how many topics this course covered. I feel like I am prepared in many ways for different areas of the broadcast/journalism field.